For The Race  Seeker Shenanigans
by LittleMewLugia
Summary: Another variant of my story "For The Race, a bit of a crackfic, the idea of the Seekers reacting the way they do in this story suggested by Lady Threarah. As she said in a PM to me, "Chaos alert!" Also contains a Sanjuno idea.
1. Chapter 1

For the Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

A/N: Another variant of my story "For The Race, a bit of a crackfic, the idea of the Seekers reacting the way they do in this story suggested by Lady Threarah. As she said in a PM to me "-Warning! Chaos alert!" Also contains a dash of Sanjuno's 'Seekers having Sparkling-protection programming' idea.

For the Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Nobody amongst the Decepticons had really thought very much about the usual content of the conversation in the Autobot medbay, relayed by a bug Skywarp had planted there, except for Skywarp. As it became obvious that the usual conversations overheard generally concerned the quality of Ratchet's energon, (always described as perfect) the quarterly inventory figures (dull in the extreme) and Ratchet's grousing (which could actually prove entertaining at times, Ratchet could be creative with his threats when torqued) the interest of other Decepticons in the received information dwindled rapidly until Skywarp was the only person regularly listening in.

Thus when a conversation between Sam, Mikaela, Bumblebee and Ratchet suddenly degenerated into cries of alarm, Skywarp was the only one listening in at the time. Although he could not at first work out what was going on, some intriguing comments from Ratchet made him sharpen his audio pickups, and divert a bit more of his processors to it. When the commotion died down, several senior Autobots turned up, and as Ratchet, Bumblebee and Mikaela described what they had seen and ideas were put forward, the situation became clear, and what Skywarp was hearing was suddenly upgraded in his thought processes from "intriguing" to "important."

It was a sign of the impact that the content of the conversation had had on Skywarp when, instead of comming the information to anyone he deemed needed to know, he instead came running out of his room, bursting into the main hub of the Decepticon control room, waving his arms around in agitation, and shouting to the room at large.

"They've got one! They've got one! I don't quite understand what happened, but they've got one!" the agitated Seeker cried.

"Who have got what?" Starscream asked, annoyed at his highly-strung wing brother's lack of understandable information. "Control yourself, and tell us something that makes sense!" Skywarp stopped long enough to blow a large amount of air through his vents before speaking again.

"The Autobots! That's who! The Autobots have got one! The Autobots have got a femme!"

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The Autobot Base, ten minutes earlier.

Ratchet, Optmus, Ironhide, and Bumblebee stood in a loose semi-circle around the berth, and Mikaela, in deference to her smaller size, was stood on the berth itself. All were looking at the slender sliver and blue twelve-foot tall Cybertronian femme lying on it deep in recharge, the individual who forty-five minutes earlier had been a seventeen year old, five foot seven inch tall human male called Sam Witwicky.

"You say that he began glowing and was obscured by light, and when it receded he looked like this?" Optimus asked Ratchet.

"Yes, and all my readings say that he is a perfectly normal Cybertronian femme. All her readings fall within Cybertronian femme norms, his – er, her – readings are pretty much average femme readings. However, her existence is anything but normal." Ratchet said.

"Do you have any ideas at all what happened to effect this change?" Optimus asked.

"Actually yes," Ratchet replied "for the moment I noticed him glowing, I activated my scanners. They registered a large amount of energy with which we are all familiar, as we have been looking for such energy traces since we left Cybertron. It was AllSpark energy, and I have a theory as to what may have happened, though no idea why."

"Please tell us your theory," Optimus asked, and Ratchet nodded, looked at everybody, and proceeded to explain.

"When Sam pushed the AllSpark into Megatron's chest, I believe that not all of its power was used to destroy Megatron. I believe that some of it went back into Sam, somehow lying dormant within him, until just now. As I said, I do not know why, but something must have triggered it, and for some reason it changed Sam into a femme."

"How did Sam react?" Optimus asked.

"He – I mean she – didn't, apart from a startled cry when he lit up," Ratchet explained. "When the glow faded she was lying on the floor as you see her, in recharge. We will have to explain what has happened when she wakes, and I have no idea how she'll take it."

"She's probably gonna _freak_," Mikaela observed. "I would in her position. May I suggest that when she does wake, you all stand back so she doesn't feel threatened?"

"Why might she feel threatened?" Bumblebee queried.

"Oh come _on_, you can't be _that_ naive!" Mikaela cried. "She wakes up, female, finding herself surrounded by four mechs who by anybody's standards are severely sex-starved? I'd be scared myself."

"Forcing another individual, mech or femme, is one of the greatest taboos in Cybertronian culture. Sam has nothing to fear from us on _that_ score." Ratchet said. "As for interfacing, we are hardly 'sex-starved', we have all had each other to rely on to satisfy any such needs."

Mikaela went a strange shade of red which Ratchet recognised as a human symptom of the emotion called 'embarassment.' "Okay, I really didn't need to know about that, but that's beside the point," she muttered, half to herself, ducking her head to hide the flush of her cheeks before jerking her head back up. "The point is, no matter how big a taboo you guys consider rape, Sam _won't know that_," she explained. "She'll wake up and feel threatened, so I advise you all to keep your distance."

Optimus inclined his head once in the manner that Mikaela had learned to recognise as assent, as Ironhide, Ratchet and Bumblebee looked from her to Sam to Optimus. As one they backed away, although Ironhide's optics returned to Sam and stayed there. "I suggest that we all try and get some recharge while we can," Ratchet advised. "Sam should not rouse for a joor or so, I can set an alarm for myself to rouse before she does."

Bumblebee and Optimus obediently headed out of the medbay, presumably headed for their own cabins, but neither Mikaela nor Ironhide moved. When Ratchet glared at Mikaela, she said "I can curl up here, I'm probably the only one of us here he won't be scared of." As Ratchet opened his mouth to object, she cut in with "I'll lie far enough away that he – um, she – won't roll on me, I have that much sense!" As that had been the concern he had been about to voice, he turned to glare at Ironhide instead.

"What's your excuse, Ironhide? As the second biggest mech on this Base, you can't suggest that _you_ won't scare her!"

"I'll stand back, as Mikaela advised," Ironhide said, "but I will stand guard. She'll probably be okay for now, but the moment the Decepticons get wind of this – as they will one day, we can't keep her here for all of her life – she'll need a protector." He paused, then continued. "I was a Creator to four mechs who reached adulthood, and two who did not." His optics dimmed as he recalled the loss of the two sparklings Chromia and he had been raising when war broke out. "I never got to rear a femme, but perhaps I can take on the Creator's protective role for Sam, something his human Creators are unable to do."

"I guess it makes sense, okay, but if she rouses before I do, you com me immediately, wake Mikaela, and keep back!" Ratchet allowed. "I suppose we should be grateful that we'll have time to work out something to deal with the Decepticons before they find out."

None of them were aware that Skywarp's bug, unnoticed underneath Sam's berth, was recording all this faithfully, even as Skywarp was running out of his room to relay the news to his wing brothers.

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Decepticon Base, ten minutes later.

"A _femme!"_ breathed Starscream almost reverently as Skywarp summed up what he had heard. The only other person in the room at that point was Soundwave, who did not seem affected by the news at all, merely turning back to his board after Skywarp's initial exclamation. "The human has become one of us, and a femme at that!" All the Seekers' optics were glowing brightly in anticipation.

"A femme can have _sparklings_," Thundercracker said, "Sparklings for us to look after, nurture, care for!"

The optics of the three Seekers briefly met, and the three regarded the excitement in each other's faces before Starscream said "But we know she's being guarded by that oaf, Ironhide. We'll never get near her if he has his way!"

"Then we need to formulate a plan, to bypass him and try to get to her." Skywarp said.

"Which means we'd better get planning," Thundercracker said.


	2. Chapter 2

For The Race-Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Two.

Sam groaned and stretched, wondering why he felt so odd. He searched his recent memory, wondering where he was. It wasn't his own bed, in fact felt hard enough to be a floor. Whose party had he crashed out during?

He opened his eyes as he heard a familiar voice call "Sam?" Sure enough it was Mikaela, but something didn't seem right. Why did she look so small?

Then memory returned in a rush, the discussion he and Mikaela had been having with Ratchet and Bumblebee, and then feeling the odd heat in his body and hearing the alien song in his ears. Alien, but completely understandable to him, he recalled. It had said something about recreating him for the survival of the Cybertronian race, that his regrets had signified a desire to do something to mitigate the destruction of the AllSpark. It had sang that although the little power it had left was weak now it was in him, it would use the last of it to fulfil that desire. That was all he could remember before blacking out fully.

Panic seized Sam. What had it done to him? Sure, once he'd found out what the AllSpark meant to the Autobots –and thus the Decepticons too – he had felt a huge amount of regret, a wish that he could have acted differently at the time or that he could do something to help, but if the remnants of the AllSpark had interpreted regret for a wish...

"Sam?" called Mikaela again, and Sam wriggled to his side so he could sit up, because flat on his back restricted his vision. He noticed two things as he did so – Mikaela and he were eye to eye, and Ironhide was nearby, though not looming as much as he usually did. In fact, as Sam watched, the black mech took two vast steps backwards and then stayed there, as Ratchet came in and said "Sam? How are you feeling?"

Sam noticed that Ratchet himself also seemed smaller than usual and was also keeping back.

"I – I'm feeling rather odd, but I'm not sure what happened. First I was talking to you, and next thing I'm sure about I'm here and you all look different." Then the words of the AllSpark came back to him, something about 'recreating' him, and he groaned and closed his eyes again.

"Oh no. Oh shit," he said. "None of you are different are you?" He opened his eyes and raised his arms and eyed the slim black metal arms and hands with growing dismay. "I'm the one who's different, aren't I?" He looked at Ratchet, hoping the medic would have the answers. "What's the AllSpark done to me?"

"Easy, Sam, calm down. I'm trying to work out what happened, if you can tell me what you remember, we'll explain what we saw, and maybe we can get some answers to the questions we're both asking. You seem pretty convinced it's the AllSpark's doing. If you can explain why, maybe I can come up with a theory."

"Okay," Sam said "but I want to ask my own questions afterwards. We were talking just before I blacked out, but just before I fainted or whatever, I heard a voice..."

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"Don't be a rust-head, Thundercracker, that'll never work!" Starscream said.

"Why not?" the blue Seeker asked. "We won't know unless we try and they might say yes. If so, it'll save an awful lot of trouble and render our other ideas unnecessary."

"If it were that easy, the war would already be over," Skywarp said. "But with all the mistrust between ourselves and the Autobots, I can't see your idea working."

"Well, let's at least try," Thundercracker said. "If it doesn't work, we still have the other ideas."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

"You mean the AllSpark took my regret to mean I wanted to turn into a big mechanical _girl_?" Sam asked, having finally gotten a good look and feel of his - now her - new form.

"Not very eloquently put, but that's what we know suggests," Ratchet said. "Mistaking your regret as a desire to do something to help, it seems the AllSpark, although not strong enough to enable you to use_ its_ power to make sparklings, had enough energy to make _you_ capable of it," he said. "I can keep checking in case the AllSpark is still in you, but from what you've said and from the readings I got, it seems the AllSpark sacrificed the last energy it had, including that it was using to exist, to effect this change.

"Oh God," Sam said, covering her face with her hands. "But – but I'm male, and – Oh God you mean I've got to have all your children?" As Mikaela had predicted, he began shying away from the two mechs in the room.

"No, Sam, you don't have to do anything." Ratchet said. "If you want to live and deactivate without having once interfaced, that's up to you. However, we have no guarantee that the Decepticons will give you that option, so we'll need to work something out before they find out."

"I'll be here to protect you, Sam." Ironhide said. "They'll have to get through me."

"We will _all_ protect you, Sam, you are still a sparkling, even by your own standards, and as the only femme, doubly in need of being watched over. None of us will expect anything from you, but we will all endeavour to keep the Decepticons from getting to you."

They all turned as Optimus spoke, watching as the Prime advanced into the room, also taking care to stand far enough from Sam so that he did not feel crowded, intimidated or threatened by the biggest mech on the Base.

At that moment, Ironhide's optics flashed, indicative of an incoming com.

"What?" he said. "What are they here for?" There was a pause. "I'm on my way, Ironhide out." The black mech turned to nod at Sam. "It seems the three Seekers have been picked up by satellite coming this way, so I'm afraid I must go back to guarding the gates. I mean Cliffjumper can defend as best as the next mech, but perhaps a reminder that I and my cannons are on guard will make them think twice about coming here." With that, he headed off out of the med bay. Optimus watched him leave, then turned to look at the wary Sam.

"Now, Sam, there are certain things that any Cybertronian, mech or femme, must learn to do, and amongst those are comming, walking and transforming. Transforming can, for now, wait, but we can start on teaching you to com and walk here and now."

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By the time Ironhide had got to the gate house and dismissed Cliffjumper, the Seekers were visible as three dots against a blue sky. As Ironhide watched, the three dots dropped closer to the ground, grew bigger, and were soon visibly planes. As they approached closer and closer, Ironhide wondered if they were in fact going to overfly the base, something Starscream was fond of doing in robot form (while making a rude hand-gesture), but at the last minute all three of them flipped into robot mode, landing gracefully several feet from the gates.

The first thing Ironhide noticed was that they were all polished to a high shine, so bright that the sun glinting off their bright hides as they moved occasionally dazzled him. The second was that they seemed a bit uncertain, clustering together and obviously having some sort of commed discussion. As this went on, Ironhide got annoyed by it and called to them.

"Hey, you Seekers. Are you here for a reason, or have you just come here to annoy me?" They looked at each other, and then two of them had obviously come to an agreement, as they pushed the third of their number towards him.

This was Thundercracker, who looked briefly in eight different directions in a row, as if seeking escape, before drawing himself up and taking another small step towards Ironhide. As Ironhide raised his cannon threateningly, the blue Seeker found his voice.

"Ah, greetings Autobot Ironhide, how is Sam?" he asked. Ironhide scowled.

"He's okay, as far as I know," he replied. "I don't keep tabs on all the humans on our base, you know."

"Not even now he's a Cybertronian femme?" Thundercracker asked. Ironhide's engine gave a surprised rev.

"How did you know about that?" he asked in annoyance. "I'm not answering any of your questions till you've answered mine."

"Ah, that would be my fault," Skywarp interjected. "I managed to sneak a bug into your medbay." At Ironhide's scowl, he said "Well, you'd do the same to us if you got the chance, don't try to deny it!" He didn't because Skywarp was quite right, both factions had a long history of spying on the other, but he commed Ratchet to sweep the medbay for listening devices.

"So, Sam's a femme, but I fail to see why you are here," he said, although he actually had a pretty good idea.

"Because we would like to ask the permission of you, her appointed protector, and your leader, Optimus Prime, for permission to see her, and court her, and let us treat her with the respect she deserves," the blue Seeker said.

"And you think I'll fall for that? You're dumber than I thought," Ironhide growled. "I am, as you noted, her appointed protector, and I'm saying right now that you'd better not come anywhere near her unless you want your wings blown off." All three Seekers took a step back at the threat. "The answer is no, "Ironhide continued "and don't even think about going to Optimus Prime behind my back because I know he'll back me up on this one." He raised his other cannon, beginning to power it up. "Now, you have a human minute to lift your miserable afts off the ground before I start firing. Got it?"

"Yes, we got it," said Thundercracker with a grimace as he rejoined his wingbrothers.

"I _told_ you it wouldn't work," Starscream told the blue Seeker.

"Yeah, okay, okay, but at least we tried, "he said as they lifted off. Once they were high in the sky, Skywarp said "So, what's next, Plan B, 1A?"

"Indeed," Starscream said. "Plan B, 1A,"


	3. Chapter 3

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Three.

Ironhide came back into the med bay without a word, and began scanning. Ratchet decided that, judging by the scowl on his face, it was best to leave him to whatever he was doing, as asking was only likely to prompt an angry retort which would not answer the question.

A few moments later he gave an 'ah!' of triumph, and reached one strong arm under the berth Sam was lying on, bringing out a small blinking listening device.

"Found it!" he growled, then crushed it between two strong fingers. "The slaggers'll get nothing more out of that!" Then he walked back out and into the control room.

"What was that?" Sam asked. Ratchet picked up the crushed device and showed it to Sam.

"It seems that the Decepticons have bugged the med bay. Ironhide has removed it now, but it does mean the Decepticons do know about your existence."

"Will I be safe?" Sam asked. Ratchet gave a wry chuckle.

"Sam, Ironhide has assigned himself as your parent figure. That means he will protect you. Any Decepticons trying to get to you will have to get through him and his cannons." He chuckled again. "I have only seen Ironhide in protective mode once. I would not like to be the one he is guarding against. With Ironhide as your protector, Sam, you'd find it hard to find a way be any safer."

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As Ironhide strode into the control room, he tapped the shoulder of Mirage, who was manning sensors, to get his attention. "Keep monitoring," he told Mirage. "If you see so much as a wingtip of any of those Seekers, tell me!" He headed out. "I'll be in the armoury, practicing my aim."

Ironhide didn't have to wait long, as an hour later he got a com from Mirage.

"Ironhide, sensors have picked up the Seekers, heading this way." Mirage told him. Ironhide growled, and headed out. If they were after Sam again, they'd have to try getting through him first.

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The Seekers were high in the sky, well out of Ironhide's weapons range, and ready to move to a position where they could approach Sam long enough to be within audio range but with enough space so they could zoom away before Ironhide could bring his cannons to bear. He could have been bluffing when he threatened to blow their wings off, but none of them were willing to take that chance.

Scanners fixed to scan the immediate area of the Autobot base, they waited for their chance.

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"Okay, Sam, you seem to be doing well with learning to walk, and while you're doing so well, we may as well take you outside and see about getting you an alt." Ratchet decided.

He turned and beckoned Bumblebee, with Sam leaning on one arm, to follow him. Slowly they did so, and Ratchet led them out to where the Autobot car park had many vehicles, here in case anyone wanted or needed to change their alt, lined up.

"You don't possess enough mass to scan all but the smallest cars, but if you want to be a motorbike, there are several you can scan available," he said. Sam nodded, and Bumblebee walked him slowly up the line of suitable vehicles. As they turned, they saw Ironhide come out of the Base and relieve Cliffjumper from gate duty. The young red Autobot seemed quite happy to be relieved early, and headed cheerfully off into the Base.

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"There! Sam's out. And look, there's Ironhide. Let's get to a position where we can come down to see Sam, but not be in danger from him. Skywarp, you go and distract him over the other end, while Thundercracker and I approach from the opposite direction."

"Why me? Why do I have to go? It was Thundercracker's idea that didn't work, why can't _he_ do the distracting?" the black Seeker whined.

"Because I can't warp out of the way of Ironhide's cannon blast, numb-helm!" Thundercracker retorted. "You're always boasting how your warping gives you a defensive advantage, and about how fast your reflexes are, so go over there and prove it!"

"Look, you'll get a chance sometime, Skywarp, but if none of us succeed, none of us will get a chance." Starscream coaxed. "If we succeed, we'll give you a chance with her, but if you distract Ironhide, we might succeed in our endeavour."

"Okay," Skywarp said sulkily, and headed down, as the other two also began to descend, using some low clouds to mask their approach.

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Sam discounted several because they were too bright, or colours she considered too 'girly': just because she was a femme, she didn't have to like – or wear - bright fluorescent pink, or pastel lilac, or bright day-glo yellow. She narrowed it down to three she could live with, and muttering something about preferring a Harley, she pointed out the most acceptable of the three.

"Okay, Sam, look at it, hold your hand out, and concentrate on becoming that motorbike." Ratchet said. "It will require intense concentration but it should activate your scanning mechanism, it does get easier with practice. Now, concentrate, Bumblebee and I will shut up to facilitate this."

Sam looked at the motorbike, and visualised herself becoming that bike. She gathered all her focus, concentrating on the chosen bike. She allowed her vision to tunnel, to narrow, to exclude everything except her chosen motorbike. She could feel her body tensing, her concentration sharpening–

Then it was shattered by the most unearthly keening she had ever heard. She looked around in shock at the direction of the hideous racket, and saw two of the Seekers flying very low overhead. The blue one appeared to be somersaulting and swooping, but that awful, atonal screeching seemed to be coming from Starscream who was flying around the blue one in a corkscrew fashion. As she heard words, fragments of sentences, about "sapphire-blue optics" and "hear my plea", she realised Starscream was _singing_, or at least _trying_ to sing. The fact that he couldn't sing didn't seem to register with the Seeker himself. Sam winced, wondering if Starscream was tone-deaf.

She raised her hands to her audios, all thoughts of taking an alt gone, but raising her hands to her audios – and Bumblebee and Ratchet were doing the same so it wasn't just her – meant she couldn't use a hand to hold on to Bumblebee, and she fell with a clatter to her side.

Two loud bangs briefly overrode the screeching, and she looked to see Ironhide, at the other end of the courtyard, taking shots at a black Seeker, who seemed to be winking in and out of existence. Ironhide turned, saw the situation, and turned to run over, just as Starscream dived down to hover over Sam.

She felt big fingers brush her cheek, looked up to see Starscream, his arm reaching down to stroke her face, and Sam briefly heard him screeching "if you'll have it, my Spark is yours, treasure it lest rough treatment shatter it beyond all repair." Then the Seeker must also have seen Ironhide's approach, as he and his blue companion rapidly shot upwards and vanished into the clouds.

Ironhide aimed both cannons into the clouds and let loose with a double volley before turning to Sam and asking "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think, but my audios are still ringing,"Sam said, raising her hand to touch where Starscream had touched her face.

"Starscream has the misfortune to have what has to be the most annoying and painful speaking voice of anybody I have ever heard," Ratchet said as Bumblebee helped Sam to her feet. He did the best imitation of a wince Sam had ever seen. "Unfortunately, it seems his singing voice is no better."

"Well, if you can concentrate again, Sam, perhaps you can gain your alt. Ironhide, can you stand by in case they come by again?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yeah, I'll blast 'em if I see 'em," Ironhide said. "It's a good thing the Decepticons didn't know how bad Starscream's singing is, if they'd played that to us on Cybertron the war would have been over before we got here! A couple of orns of that, and I think most of our forces would be begging for mercy!"

Sam thought that Ironhide was joking but considering how appalling Starscream's singing voice was, he couldn't be sure.

Luckily, there were no more interruptions, and Sam was able to scan his alt and then go inside to continue learning how to walk.

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"Well, your songs didn't seem particularly effective either," Thundercracker told Starscream.

"Is my voice really as bad as their reactions suggested?" Starscream asked.

"Do you really want us to be truthful when we answer that?" Skywarp replied.

"Actually, no, I'll get our medic to look at it when next time I get the chance," Starscream said. "Okay, I guess that we should try the next plan. No singing, just gestures. Skywarp, you watch the base, if Sam comes out, and you get a chance to talk to her while we're away, do so. Thundercracker, you're with me."

"I could warp in and talk to her," Skywarp offered hopefully.

"No, that could be interpreted as hostile, we don't want to intensify the war over this, we'll try out other methods first," Starscream said. "If we want to bring up sparklings, we don't want to scare her or annoy the Autobots further."

"I think your singing might have done that already," Skywarp said ingenuously.

"Skywarp, _shut up_," Starscream suggested. "Wait here, and Thundercracker and I will collect what we need for the next plan. You can help with that, we shouldn't need to be low enough for long enough to need you to distract anybody."

With that, Starscream and Thundercracker headed off to find the needed resource for their next idea.


	4. Chapter 4

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Four.

Judy was woken first by the agitated barking of Mojo, and then was kept awake by the sound of unusual voices whispering, the muted click of metal on metal, and the rustle of disturbed foliage. She recognised the slight shudder of the ground underfoot, it usually meant that Bumblebee had transformed into his bipedal mode for one reason or another. Judy was by now used to telling the sixteen foot mech to go back into car from lest he draw attention to himself. She was about to do likewise when she remembered that Bumblebee was away with Sam at the Autobot Base. Plus, none of the whispered voices sounded like Sam or his guardian. So who was in her garden, and why? Slipping out of bed carefully so as not to disturb her sleeping husband, she peered out of the curtains.

Ron was woken by an outraged shriek from Judy. "My roses! Leave them alone!" As he flailed in the bedclothes, Judy said "Ron! Where's my baseball bat!"

"Downstairs in the hall! Why?" he asked, his query cut off with a muffled thud and an 'oof' as he fell out of bed, still half-wrapped in the bedding.

"Because there are two alien robots in the garden, and they are _stealing my rose bushes!"_ she cried as she ran out of the bedroom door and ran down the stairs in her nighty.

The two Seekers had almost finished their task when Judy ran out and took a swing at Thundercracker's foot with her bat. He yelled in surprise, stopping what he was doing to look down at the little human who was hitting a twig against his legs. He looked at his hands, both full of rose bushes, and decided he'd done enough. He took a running jump into the air, igniting his jets and soaring up into the air. Starscream, his hands equally full, noticed Thundercracker's departure, saw Judy heading his way with a look of fury on her face, and followed suit, although that didn't stop Judy from uttering a war cry and lashing out, catching one of his toes with the bat end as he flew off. Toe ends were sensitive and he yelled, because it hurt.

Ron came downstairs to find Judy standing on his churned-up turf waving her baseball bat about like some latter day cave woman, shouting obscenities up at a seemingly empty sky. "Judy, the neighbours are looking!" he said.

"I don't care, let them look!" she said. "Look, the robots have stolen almost all my rose bushes! Why can't the thieving scum buy their own?"

Sure enough, only two rose bushes, one uprooted and one still in the ground, remained of Judy's extensive and beautiful rose garden.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

The owner of the Tranquility florist always took the greatest care to make his shop unattractive to thieves. He had installed CCTV cameras to watch the store front and back. He always took his stock into the shop upon closing. He always took any takings away, either to be stored at his home or be banked in the morning. The only thing anybody might gain by breaking into his shop was flowers, and maybe some greetings cards, and few people were willing to break and enter for that alone.

Thus it was a great shock to him to come into his shop the next morning to find his ceiling torn off as if by giant hands, and his entire stock of flowers – but nothing else – missing.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Bumblebee took the call from Sam's mother all unsuspecting. He was not expecting trouble, even though Sam had inexplicably changed, for Sam had arranged to be away for a week, giving Ratchet some time to work out how and what to say to them. Thus the volume and tone of Judy's voice took him by surprise.

"Tell them to put them back, all of them! It's not funny!" she yelled.

Once he'd got her to explain enough so that the story made sense, he then told her that the Seekers were not his friends playing a practical joke, but enemies, doing what they had for reasons unknown. After calming Judy down, Bumblebee decided it wasn't something he'd tell Sam about, it wasn't exactly important or need-to-know, and Sam had enough to worry about.

When the report of the theft from the florist by forces unknown came into Ironhide's office, he had no reason to connect the thefts with the Seekers, and moved it to the 'possible Decepticon activity, non-urgent' pile. Neither spoke to the other, so there was nobody to connect the two events, at least not until later that day.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Sam had decided that today might be a nice day to practice transforming back and forth from alt to robot form and back again while moving, so she went outside to the courtyard in order to do so.

It was a beautiful day, barely a cloud in the sky, and although she was careful to watch the sky in case of Seekers at first, she soon forgot to do so as she concentrated on switching form while on the move. It looked so easy when she had seen the others doing it, but carrying out the action was not as easy as it looked, and soon all her processors were occupied on keeping her balance while transforming from one form to the other while circling the Base.

So engrossed in her task was she that she didn't notice when the sound of jet engines gradually getting closer became audible, nor did she look up to see the three contrails of the high–flying trine. Neither did she notice when they abruptly changed direction and dived down towards her (although Ironhide had been informed and was heading for the courtyard.) The first thing she saw was bunches of flowers and even whole rose bushes raining around about her, and stopped in puzzlement. She didn't think to look up until a rose bush, complete with roots and clods of earth still attached, fell to strike her on the helm with a muddy thump hard enough to make her optics momentarily blur.

Shaking her head in confusion she looked up in time to dodge another colourful missile. "Oops, sorry," she heard as a red and white winged form flew by overhead, raining bunches of gladioli, lilies and chrysanthemums down around her. Sam stared as he realised the three Seekers were all carrying bulging nets full of flowers of all kind, pulling them out in Seeker-sized handfuls and scattering them overhead as they swung by.

As the gladioli and chrysanthemums were joined by massive bunches of red roses, Ironhide came running out of the base with his cannons raised. He looked furious, and was obviously planning to make a powerful statement to the Seekers involving the use of his cannons, but the flower-strewn ground unfortunately meant the impact he made was anything but impressive.

As his heavy metal feet landed on the flowers and squashed them into a mushy slime, his feet lost traction on the ground. The twenty-four foot mech waved his arms futilely in an attempt to balance as he found his feet suddenly sliding out from under him. Sam could see it was a lost cause from the start, and shuttered her optics with a cringe of sympathy as the big Weapons Specialist landed with a thud that shook the entire Base, and must have shattered the concrete beneath him.

Sam could hear the Seeker's laughter from where she was, and although they did not cease casting flowers over and about her, their mirth caused them to bob up and down as they flew. Movement from the direction of the Base door caught her optic, and she saw that both Ratchet and Optimus had been drawn out by the vibration caused by Ironhide's fall. As Ironhide, enraged, pointed his cannons at the Seekers from where he lay on his back, Optimus waved to Sam to come over as Ratchet headed over to check that Ironhide was okay.

Realising that she was exposed and out in the open with Seekers flying closer than was comfortable, Sam carefully began making her way over towards the Base, even as Ironhide discharged both cannons with a deafening bang. Sam heard all three Seekers cry out in alarm as they dodged the barrage, and chanced a look back to see that the Seekers were headed directly for her. She tried to pick up her pace, all too mindful of Ironhide's slip as she felt flowers being crushed beneath her feet.

She suddenly felt herself deluged with flowers as the lead Seeker – she thought it was Starscream – swooped low and released one end of his flower net, allowing the blooms to all cascade down over her. The other two Seekers followed his lead, and Sam looked up, half-buried in blossoms, to see the three angle up into the sky at a steep angle, to get as far away from Ironhide's cannons as possible. She watched them until they were mere specks in the sky, then looked up a little startled when she realised Optimus had come over and was helping to sweep the flowers from on and around her.

He helped her back to the entrance of the Base, and when she got there she turned around and looked at the flower-strewn courtyard in astonishment, stooping to pick up a tired-looking rose bush nearby.

"Where on Earth did they get all these? Most of them are cut flowers, but this must have been taken from a garden or something, it still has the roots. My Mom has some just like this, they're her pride and joy, her rose garden is the talk of the neighbourhood. "

"They probably _are_ hers, Judy called me earlier to report that two big flying robots had stolen her rose bushes, she thought they were friends of mine playing a trick," Bumblebee said, coming up behind her from inside the Base.

"Oh no, she's gonna be mad, she only just had those replaced after Sector Seven ripped up the last ones," Sam said, putting her head in one hand. At that point, Ratchet and Ironhide reached her, the latter having been helped to his feet by the former.

"Is he injured?" Optimus asked Ratchet in concern.

"The only casualty is my dignity," the big Weapons Specialist rumbled "although I have a mess on my paintwork which I can clean off." Bumblebee stepped aside as the medic and Ironhide went into the Base.

"Bumblebee, please retrieve any of the rose bushes that are saveable from the courtyard and take them back to Mrs Witwicky," Optimus said. "I will arrange for some form of monetary compensation for the damaged plants and the distress caused to Mrs Witwicky to be made available."

Optimus didn't want to ask the Military for any more money, he had to go through too many unnecessary stages for that, but he could have a word with the Lamborghini Twins. He was sure they'd enjoy a week off normal patrol duties in exchange for hiring themselves out, for a reasonable fee, to transport people to and from events. He could use some of that to give to Judy Witwicky, any extra could go into a fund for any other small payments that might need to be made in the future. He sighed.

"While you are there, please try and break the news - gently, please - to Sam's Creators. If you can't find a way, bring them here and I will tell them. We will have to tell them sometime, and there seems little point in putting it off any longer."

A/N: Thanks to author MeowthTwo for the idea that one of the rose bushes might land on Sam's head. The idea of the Lambo Twins (yes, I hauled them into my version of the Movieverse,) hiring themselves out for money (as flashy cars, not as pleasure-bots you mucky lot! :D) was an idea that MeowthTwo and I came up with together.


	5. Chapter 5

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Five.

A/N: I am using my idea of Barricade being a famous musician and composer before the war in this one. For further details of this idea of Barricade, please refer to the story "Perfect Harmony."

Bumblebee had returned with Sam's parents in tow, neither of whom wished to believe what Bumblebee was telling them until they had seen it with their own eyes. When they saw her, Judy fainted and Ron shook his head and refused to believe that really was Sam. It was only when Sam recounted several things to Ron that only he knew (including one escapade that the recently-revived Judy slapped Ron for) that he believed Sam was who she said she was.

They both asked for time to get used to the idea, and barely stopped long enough for Optimus to promise reimbursement for the roses before they asked Bumblebee to take them home, where they were, Sam assumed, going to consume a large volume of spirits and discuss Sam's transformation.

"Actually, I was expecting more of a demonstration of your mother's legendary temper," Ratchet said "so that went better than I thought it would."

Sam was glad that her mother had not caused issues, the events with the Seekers were still freaking her out enough without parental hysterics complicating the issue. It was better, she supposed, than trying to kidnap or kill her, but after the flower incident and the dreadful screeching that passed for singing from Starscream, she wondered what they would try next.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

"They say it takes just a joor to learn but a lifetime to master," Thundercracker said as the three met to discuss their next strategy.

"The humans think that music is an aid to romance, although my singing didn't seem to do much good," Starscream said.

"That's because the music needs to be of good quality and have the right mood, and presumably your singing failed in at least one of those areas," Skywarp said.

"Shut up," Starscream muttered.

"You're the one who brought it up," whined Skywarp.

"Both of you, be quiet, bickering about past events is not going to help us do better in the future," Thundercracker said. "Let's focus on the issue at hand: that of getting hold of Barricade's instrument, because there is no _way_ he's going to let us have it if we ask."

"That's easy, I'll send him out to patrol the outskirts of Tranquility, tell him that we want him to watch for suspicious Autobot activity, that we think the Autobots are expecting landings soon. He goes off, Skywarp uses his ability to get it, we serenade Sam, with me playing on the instrument, Skywarp scatters the poetry, then with luck we return Barricade's instrument and he's none the wiser."

"Who will sing this time?" Skywarp asked.

"Thundercracker and you, but make sure you both sing in time with each other and to my music," Starscream said.

"For someone whose voice shatters audios at half a mile, you're a fine one to advise _us_ on singing," Skywarp muttered. Starscream shot him a venomous look and opened his mouth to retort, but a glare from Thundercracker made him hold his glossa.

"Well, you send him off, Starscream, I'll go and get the paper for the poetry while Skywarp takes the instrument while the coast is clear," Thundercracker said. "Then you can practice while Skywarp and I write out the poetry."

"Okay," Starscream said. "You go now, Thundercracker, I'll tell Barricade to patrol five minutes after. Skywarp, you wait here, when Barricade has gone, I'll give you the sign." Thundercracker went off, and as agreed, Starscream went towards Barricade's room five minutes later.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Starscream stroked the polished, shaped, rose-hued metal as Skywarp looked on. Starscream had trouble fitting his big fingers on to the keys and grip, for the instrument had been made for the smaller mech, the finger spaces moulded to Barricade's digits, but he could just about manage. Even Skywarp could tell that the instrument was not just a mass-produced practice instrument but one made to order, a masterpiece of its kind. When Starscream pressed a key and plucked a string, the pure, clear note it produced was true. No retuning would be needed, something Starscream was glad of, for he had no idea how to tune the instrument.

It took him a while, but by the time Thundercracker returned with a large roll of blank newspaper raided from a warehouse, Starscream could produce a discernable tune from the instrument, and was soon able to produce something a little more complex. The other two used paintbrushes and black paint to write out their love poetry, as Starscream improved his speed and repertoire on the pilfered item.

The three had high hopes for this plan: surely the femme would be mesmerised by the love song they had written and the poetry they had scribed? Surely within three orns they could be anticipating her bearing a sparkling from one of them? Once they had finished they reviewed the fruits of their labours, and squeed together as they spoke to each other of the sparklings they would eventually get from the newly-changed Sam, who would surely be so impressed she would ask them to catch her up, take her away, and court her?

"So, when do we carry this one out?" Skywarp asked.

"As soon as possible. I'll go and fly over at a good height and watch for Sam coming out. When I give the signal, Thundercracker, you grab the stuff, and Skywarp, you transport Thundercracker and the stuff to our location."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Sam had been very wary about venturing outside after the incident with the flowers, but in the end she decided she'd better go out to where she had space to practice some of her attack moves. The Seekers had not actually been threatening as such, and had only touched her once, and that touch had been fleeting, so she pushed aside her worries and headed out. After all, surely they couldn't have got anything else planned _that_ fast?

At first, everything seemed to be fine, and after half an hour of nervously looking at the sky every five minutes, Sam began to believe that they were either still plotting, or had hopefully given up.

It was the sound of approaching engines twenty minutes later, combined with a pop of displaced air that told her that such hopes had been in vain. She turned and began to make for the Base door, but then Thundercracker dropped down in front of her, hovering inches from the ground to block her way, and began to cast large sheets of paper with writing on them around. As Sam tried to go around him, Starscream dropped down too, with a large metallic item cradled in his arms, blocking her from that side, as Skywarp scattered more bits of paper from above.

As Sam watched, Starscream's fingers began to move over the item he held and Sam stopped, this time in surprise, because as Starscream moved his fingers, she heard strange but beautiful alien music. She realised that Starscream was playing an instrument, and then she heard a deep voice and realised that somebody – thankfully not Starscream – was singing.

As another voice joined the first and Skywarp descended the other side of Starscream, Sam realised both of the other Seekers were singing. In spite of her anxiety concerning the Seekers, she strained her ears to hear what was being sung.

"Light of my life, love of my Spark,

Hear my song, heed my plea,

Beautiful femme, before it is dark,

Join us in loving, come here to me,

Holding you close, we'll take you up high,

We can join our sparks into one, Sparkmerging,

And the light of our joining can light up the sky,

And we'll fill this world with our sparklings!"

"You _what_?" Sam said, not sure whether to laugh out loud or be offended. "I don't think so!" she said. She made an abrupt spin and dodged around the trio, heading for the Base door, seeing, with relief, Ironhide heading out, both cannons already whirring, with Ratchet close behind. The three Seekers, who had followed, two of them still singing as Starscream played, also saw this, and angled upwards just as Ironhide fired.

As the three dodged, Starscream lost his hold on the instrument, which plummeted down towards the ground. Starscream tried to follow it with a keen, and had to abort his plunge as Ironhide shot at him again. Ratchet managed to reach out and catch it before it hit the ground, examining it with interest as Ironhide continued firing until the Seekers were merely dots in the sky.

"What was all that about?" the big Weapons Specialist asked.

"According to their song, they love me and want me to bear their sparklings!" Sam grimaced, and repeated the content of the song she'd heard before she'd decided she'd heard enough. "I mean, that's not even romantic!" Sam pleaded. "Pornographic maybe, but not romantic!"

"Well, considering the way Seekers are about interfacing and sparklings, maybe promising multiple Sparkmerge and many Sparklings _would_ be romantic, at least to another Seeker," Ratchet remarked.

"Well, I'm _not_ a Seeker, and to me, it's _not_ romantic, not romantic at _all_!" Sam said vehemently.

"Where did they find this?" Ratchet interjected as he turned the instrument over and inspected the other side. "This was made by one of the most respected instrument-crafters on Cybertron. No mere novice would usually be allowed anywhere near this!"

"As long as Starscream doesn't come anywhere near me, I quite frankly don't care!" Sam remarked. She stooped to pick up one of the bits of painted-on paper. "What's this?" She began reading it out loud.

"There is no other than you who has taken my Spark,

I will bow down before you and give you my mark,

Our trine will become a quartet, with you we will fly

And show you the glory of the beautiful sky.

Our love knows no boundaries, we'll do it for you,

Ask us, we'll be there, your faithful sky-crew,

We'll bear you between us wherever you want to be,

Our Spark-mate we'll make you with all of us three.

And when all of our youth-time has gone flying by

And our squadrons of sparklings blacken the sky,

Still we will bear you and keep you so dear,

This is our plea, we beg you to hear."

Sam looked up in horror. "Our squadrons of sparklings blacken the sky?" he repeated with a grimace. "Is this their idea of a _love poem?_"

Ironhide was wincing. "I would suggest that they stick to flying and shooting, natural poets they are _not_!" he groused. Sam went around and found many sheets of paper with many pieces of poetry, all equally appalling. Sam read out a few particularly groansome lines, and all three were laughing at how bad it was as they went in the door.

"I still wonder whose this is, it's beautifully crafted and looks custom," Ratchet said as he put the instrument up safely on a high surface. "If the owner is still alive, perhaps he will come for it. Until then, I'll keep it safe."

"It's some sort of musical instrument, isn't it?" Sam said. Ratchet nodded. "Could you play it? Or could I?" Ratchet nodded again.

"Not that I would play on this particular one, this is the instrument of a master. But the instrument type itself? Yes, I could play it and so could you, after all it only takes about a joor to learn how to play, but it takes a lifetime to master it."


	6. Chapter 6

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Six.

A/N: Dr Syn is the intellectual property of MeowthTwo on this site, and is used with her permission.

"Okay, who volunteers to tell Barricade that the Autobots have his instrument?" Starscream asked. "Skywarp, you got it from his room, you can tell him."

"No way!" Skywarp said. "_You_ told me to, and _you_ were playing it, and _you_ dropped it, so _you_ tell him!"

"He has a point," Thundercracker pointed out. Starscream pulled a face at him.

"Okay, but I'm doing it over com." Starscream said, and contacted Barricade.

'_There's no suspicious activity here, Autobot or otherwise, I'd tell you if there was. Don't you trust me enough to leave me to it?' _the frontliner replied.

'_Um...Barricade, there's sort of been an accident, I'm really sorry, we meant to put it back where we found it, but I dropped it and now the Autobots have it,'_ Starscream said, all in a rush.

'_What are you blathering about? What are you apologising for?'_ he asked tetchily.

'_Um...we wanted to court a femme and my singing voice isn't much good, so I...I sort of borrowed your instrument,'_ Starscream said.

'_YOU WHAT?'_ bellowed Barricade so loudly that Starscream winced. _'That's MINE! How DARE you take my things! That instrument was made by a master craftsmech who died in the opening shots of the war! Where is it?'_

'_Um...I dropped it over the Autobot Base, I tried to catch it but that oaf Ironhide stopped me!'_ Starscream whined.

'_If it's damaged, I'll rip your innards from your armour and feed them to glitch-mice!'_ he snarled. _'I'll rip your head from your shoulders and shove it up your thrusters!'_

'_Look, look, I'm sure if you ask the Autobots nicely, they'll let you have it back!'_ Starscream said.

'_If they don't I'll strip you down to your component parts and ask Dr Syn to craft me a new one from them! Keep away from me, or I'll make you suffer!'_ The connection was cut with a savage click.

"Um...he's upset," Starscream said. "May I suggest we stay out of his way for a bit, we can make an auxiliary base to operate in the interim?"

"Okay, then maybe he can calm down," Thundercracker said, not wanting to get on the wrong side of Starscream _or_ Barricade. Skywarp, for the same reasons as Thundercracker, concurred.

"Well, let's get on with it!" Starscream said. "The sooner we get a new base, the sooner we can get back to courting the femme!"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

When sensors picked up a Decepticon heading for their Base, Optimus put his mechs on standby. Perhaps if aerial manoeuvres had failed to entice Sam out, they were launching some sort of ground attack? He, Prowl, and Ironhide watched the screen anxiously, watching for the others who would surely be coming behind. When the solitary Decepticon was within five minutes of the base if he kept up his current speed and heading, Ironhide went out to back up Cliffjumper on the gate.

The sole Decepticon – and there was still no sign of backup either on sensors or visually – turned out to be Barricade, who reached the gate, transformed, saw Ironhide and said "I have come for my instrument. I ask that it be returned."

"Your instrument? That would be the one that Starscream dropped yesterday while tormenting our femme with bad rhyme?" Ironhide asked.

"He did not ask permission!" Barricade hissed, his optics flickering in distress and anger. "Neither would it have been granted if he had asked! That instrument was made for me! Is it damaged? Return it to me!"

Ironhide nodded. "Ratchet has it, I'll call him to bring it out. I do not believe it is damaged."

"That is as well!" Barricade said. "An Autobot damaged it at the beginning of the war, I killed him for it. If it is damaged, I will have no compunctions about doing likewise to all inside your Base, or die in the attempt!"

Ironhide commed Ratchet, who came outside with the instrument, showing it to Barricade through a peephole in the gate.

"That's it!" he cried. "Give it back to me!"

"How do I know it is yours?" asked Ratchet. "It is a master's instrument, yet you are a frontline warrior."

"Put it in my hands and I will _play_ it to prove it. If you know it to be a master's instrument, you will surely recognise a master's playing?"

Ratchet nodded. "Open the gates," he told Ironhide.

"Are you mad? That's the mech who was Megatron's top shock soldier out there!" Ironhide objected.

"You would rather he rammed the gate to get in? Or ripped it off its hinges? He could if he wanted," Ratchet told him. Recognising that Ratchet had a point, but not liking it, Ironhide grumbled but complied.

Barricade came in quietly enough, and inclined his head to Ratchet in a gesture of respect and thanks. Ratchet repeated the gesture and handed Barricade the item. Barricade took it and inspected it minutely, running loving fingers over the item, caressing the metal and checking it for any sign of damage. Once he was satisfied it was in the same condition as when he had last seen it, he put his fingers on the grips and keys – and even with his claws, they fitted perfectly – and began to play.

Starscream's novice attempts on this fine instrument had been lovely enough, but the sounds the terrifying-looking mech teased from the same instrument were beautiful. Haunting, unearthly music echoed around the courtyard and penetrated so far into the base that everybody, including Sam, came out to listen. Everybody stared at the sight of the black and white mech, his optics half-shuttered in concentration, his head nodding to the beat. Sam nudged Bumblebee and whispered "They do say that music soothes the savage breast."

At that point, the music tailed off and Barricade looked up, his red optics settling on Sam. The music had not seemed to come to an unnatural end, nor had it sounded truncated, yet had ceased the moment Sam finished her sentence, something that Ratchet knew was another sign of a master of his craft.

Sam stood as if paralysed under Barricade's stare. He approached, and looked Sam up and down.

"You are the femme Starscream was attempting to court?" he asked.

"Yes," Sam said.

"Did you like his music on this instrument?" he asked.

"Yes, but yours was much better," Sam said. "His was nice, but yours was beautiful, I've never heard anything like it!"

Barricade took Sam's hand very delicately – ignoring Ironhide's warning growl - and bent to press his lips to it in a human gesture of courtliness, although Sam flinched when he felt one of Barricade's teeth nick the top of the hand. He straightened, running his glossa over the tooth, and nodded.

"Starscream is a thief, and has only had a few joor's use of the instrument. You taste as if you are telling the truth, and there is no sour taste of fear in your energon. You now know the sound of a master playing on his instrument. I am glad you enjoyed it. Maybe if a chance for an acceptable peace presents itself, I may play for you again. However, I will now take my leave."

He put the instrument away somewhere, then converted into car form and took off out of the gate, as Sam looked down at the tiny nick on her hand, which as she watched, sealed over and began to heal.

"He bit me!" Sam said, half confused and half-indignant.

"I think he was impressed," Ratchet said. "You faced him close-up, and his form is deliberately frightening, but you were not frightened, he could tell from the taste of your energon."

"But he _bit_ me!" Sam repeated. Ratchet sighed.

"It was barely more than a scratch and it'll be gone by morning. He meant no harm by it, it is an old Decepticon custom to test the truthfulness of your response, and it's quite accurate. Stress or fear release chemicals that make the energon in your tubes taste bitter. I don't think you'll have anything more to fear from him."

"Well, I'm going back inside, I've had quite enough of music for today," Sam said.

"What I'm wondering is what they'll try next," Bumblebee muttered, only loud enough for Sam to hear.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

It took the Seekers a couple of days to find and equip a new Base, but that didn't stop them discussing their options. They were a bit upset at their failure to woo Sam, after their passionate verses and declarations of love, where had they gone wrong? They were, however, undeterred from trying other ways.

"We should try dancing, in the sky of course so we can evade Ironhide, but remember? All the femmes at the Academy either liked to dance or loved to see us dance, sometimes both." Thundercracker said. "If we show her how skilled we are in the air, perhaps she will realise that we are, as the humans might put it, a good catch."

"Very well," Starscream said. "We will practice for an orn, and then we shall dazzle her with our aerobatics and our dancing."


	7. Chapter 7

For The Race–Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Seven.

A/N:Thanks to Lady Threarah for ideas used in this chapter.

Sam was doubly nervous about going out into the courtyard after the latest string of incidents, and had even scanned Mikaela's Vespa as a new disguise form, but as days passed and turned into a week without any sign of the Seekers, Sam began to relax. As the one week turned into two, Sam began to hope that the Seekers had finally got the message.

Figuring she was safe enough, as the three Seekers did not know her new alt and had not shown their faces, wings, or any other part of their anatomy for a good Cybertronian orn, Sam decided to risk a trip out to the Lookout with Mikaela.

"Look, the Seekers seem to have got the message, but even if they haven't, I've taken a holoform that resembles one of Mikaela's girl friends who rides an identical Vespa, so I should be okay, right?" she told Ironhide. "Look, I can't stay in the Base forever, so let me try, right?"

"Well, I guess they've not tried anything dangerous except Starscream's singing, and I guess you have a point, but if they start bothering you, you call me," Ironhide said, relenting under Sam's logic and the desperate look in her blue optics.

"Okay, Ironhide, sure thing!" Sam said, relieved that Ironhide had not put up more of a fight, for she was going stir-crazy bring confined to Base while Mikaela was able to come and go as she pleased in the hot Tranquility summer sun. She checked she had all she needed, and then she and Mikeala burned rubber out of the Base before Ironhide could think of a reason to change his mind.

The journey to the Lookout passed without incident, and the location was secluded enough that Sam could convert to robot form with little chance of being spotted by anybody except Miles or one of his fellow UFO enthusiasts, whom Sam was sure she could convince to keep quiet if they _did_ stumble upon her up there.

The two femmes lay in the sun talking about everything and nothing and basically enjoying the view, the sun, and each other's company without any distractions. It was Mikaela's sharp eyes that spotted the motes that seemed to be darting about the sky, and pointed them out to Sam.

"Sam? Look over there. Am I getting spots before my eyes or is there something out there?"

Sam focused with her optics, being able to zoom in on the motes in a way Mikaela was unable to.

"There's definitely something there." He paused before speaking again a little more sharply. "It's those Seekers, although they're so far away that I don't think they're any threat to us."

"Well, let's not take that chance, hey? Let's pack up and leave quietly." Mikaela suggested. Sam was quite agreeable to that, but as Mikaela packed the remains of a meal she had brought into a bag, Sam continued to watch the Seekers, who appeared to be aimlessly swooping and rolling in the sky. Occasionally two would meet and go zooming off together, then separate, looping and rolling and squirting intricate vapour trails across the sky.

As she watched, one of them stopped, mid-turn, facing her, and Sam realised that if she could see them, it was highly likely that they could also see her.

"Time to go, I think," she said, turning to Mikaela. She had barely finished speaking when there was a sharp crack and a blast of air from above as a black and purple winged form appeared above them. Sam didn't even have time to dodge before the Seeker scooped her up in his two long arms, cradling her against his body as he rose into the air. As he turned to fly on his back, Sam saw that the two other motes were closer – the other two were on their way.

"Sam, Sam, at last I can hold you and touch you," Skywarp said. "What's a nice femme like you doing on a dirtball like this?"

Sam stared, that had to be one of the oldest chat-up lines in the book. She opened her mouth to give him a tart reply, but the young mech hadn't finished.

"Do you come here often? Let me take you away from all of this. The sweetest energon tastes bitter when I compare it to you. I should wear a life jacket lest I drown in your beautiful optics. One smile from you would lighten up my life. With your looks and my processors, our sparklings will be both gorgeous and gifted." The corny chat-up lines went on and on, many Sam had heard (or used) before, others that were new to her, but all equally bad.

Eventually he ran out, and by then Sam had forgotten about giving a sarcastic remark, because the other two Seekers had arrived. She struggled and said "Put me down!"

"Skywarp, you're scaring her!" Starscream reproached his younger wing brother. He reached down and plucked Sam from Skywarp's embrace, drawing her securely into his own. He flew so they were both upright, one of his arms around her shoulders and the other under her aft, the hand holding her leg.

"We saw you admiring our dancing earlier. Let us show you what it is like to be part of the dance," he told her. She caught a brief glimpse of Thundercracker and Skywarp coming together and holding each other before Starscream took off with her, corkscrewing straight up into the sky. His hold on her was secure, but as the dizzying ascent continued, Sam grabbed hold of him desperately, clinging on lest the Seeker slip and drop her.

Eventually he stopped rising and spinning, and Sam discovered another advantage of her new Cybertronian body, she wasn't dizzy as such a trip might have made her when she was human. Starscream shifted his grip on her, loosening the hold he had on her back, and Sam clung even tighter, but Starscream said "Don't worry, I won't drop you, I promise. Look at the view from up here!" He briefly shifted the position of his other arm to under her knees, so she was in a seated position, and Sam did then relax one arm, as she was now seated sideways.

The other arm stayed around Starscream's neck and tightened as Sam saw they were now so far up that the buildings of Tranquility now looked like Lego bricks and the people like ants. A quick glance towards the Lookout revealed Mikaela was still there by her Vespa. As he watched, she moved off out of sight beneath the trees.

Movement, still below but closer, drew her optics, and she watched as Thundercracker and Skywarp, locked in what appeared to be a passionate embrace, copied Starscream's corkscrew manoeuvre, except that when they reached the apex, Thundercracker took his arms from round Skywarp. He leaned back in Skywarp's arms, arching back until his head and arms were pointing towards the ground. The blue Seeker raised his legs to clutch Skywarp about the waist with them, locking them at the ankles, at which point Skywarp lifted both arms up to the sky and spread his hands.

As Thundercracker hung suspended only by the grip of his legs about his wing brother's waist, Skywarp suddenly leaned forwards and began moving, accelerating rapidly. Thundercracker's body slanted back as Skywarp began flying around Starscream and Sam, and then he abruptly stopped. At which point Thundercracker utilised the momentum of the flight to swing himself back up, Skywarp putting his arms out to catch Thundercracker's. Then Thundercracker released his legs from Skywarp's waist, released one of Skywarp's hands, and moved around to hover beside him, still holding one of the black Seeker's hands. Then the two took a mid – air bow, before, still bent over, they released their hands and tumbled down, head over pedes.

They ended their somersaults about twenty feet below and then soared back up, and Sam couldn't help it. Her Spark had been in her mouth the whole time, and she reached her free hand behind, lifting her hand from Starscream's shoulder long enough to applaud.

"That is the merest of our routines, Sam, would you like to see what I can do?" Starscream asked. Without waiting for a reply, he took her over to the other two, who quickly relieved him of Sam, each putting an arm around her back and under her thighs to put her in a surprisingly comfy and secure sitting position between them.

Starscream backed off, and then began to flip and turn in front of her, dropping down to somersault back up, then soaring overhead and performing a flip at the top of his trajectory to come down feet-first in a controlled fall behind her and then doing a repeat of the manoeuvre to rise back up in front of her, take one of her hands in his, and give it a kiss. Sam tensed, expecting a small bite, but it seems Starscream did not want to taste her energon. He backed away and suddenly shot off, almost faster than the eye could follow. Within moments he was a speck in the sky, and two sharp cracks announced why: Starscream had gone supersonic.

Within moments, however, he was back, and back doing a series of somersaults in mid-air by the time the double-boom of his return sounded. He finished somersaulting and bowed again.

"Thundercracker and Skywarp make a wonderful double act, but we all have our own individual abilities. Thundercracker is the most agile and manoeuvrable of us, whereas I am the fastest, unbeaten in a straight flight for more orns than I can recall. As for Skywarp, well, he's just Skywarp, and I'll let him demonstrate his unique area of expertise for himself."

This time, Sam was feeling more confident, even when applauding Starscream the hands of her bearers had not budged an inch, so when she was shifted so that Thundercracker alone was holding her, she was quite happy with the situation. She was loving their aerobatic display, was finding herself feeling comfortable with them, and began to wonder if Ironhide's overprotective reaction was, perhaps, a wee bit over the top. To her surprise she found herself considering them as potential mates, although she'd have to insist that the group sex and 'squadrons of sparklings' were negotiated down to something more reasonable.

Skywarp treated her to a fantastic display of his warping abilities, moving from place to place in the blink of an eye, before winking out for a bit longer, then returning with items from far-off places. Upon returning from one trip, he presented her with an exotic bloom from the Amazon Rainforest, on another a chunk of ice from a glacier in the North Pole, and then a very surprised-looking penguin from the South Pole (which Sam insisted he put back, carefully.) He came back with a shell from one of the tropical oceans, crystals from a distant cave, water from the Dead Sea and freshly-picked Brazil nuts from the rainforest in Brazil. A frond of wet seaweed followed (which was dropped soon after, none of them liking it's slimy feel) and then a fresh green coconut, still oozing sap from where Skywarp had picked it. His last item was a piece of pumice, still warm from when a volcano had ejected it.

Sam was very impressed with this show of abilities, and when Skywarp shaped himself into a sitting position, locked his joints and offered himself as a floating chair, she happily accepted. She sat in this living chair (which occasionally nuzzled her head or stroked her arm) as she watched Thundercracker do a passable eel impression, almost tying himself into knots to show her what he could do with his flexible form in the air, performing the tightest turns and twists and rolls Sam had ever seen.

As Thundercracker finished, Skywarp leaned forwards. "There is another aspect of my ability you should know about, so you may know how safe you are with us in the air or on the ground, but to demonstrate it, I must ask you to trust me."

Without waiting for Sam's response, he grabbed her by the upper arms, straightened to an upright position, and dropped her.


	8. Chapter 8

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans

Chapter Eight.

A/N: Ironhide and Ratchet are their movie colours, the rest unless otherwise mentioned are in their G1 colours, because, let's face it, the G1 patterns and colours are _pretty!_

When the black and purple Seeker grabbed Sam and took her into the sky, Mikaela could do little more than shake her fist and yell "Let her go!" Whether he did not hear her or chose to ignore her she was uncertain, but whichever it was, the Seeker did not comply.

As she watched, unarmed and helpless to interfere in what was going on, she saw the other two Seekers approaching. As Starscream took possession of Sam from the first Seeker, Mikaela remembered she had her cell on her. Pulling it from her pocket, she watched as Starscream spiralled up into the air with Sam, then called Ratchet, who had adapted himself to receive cell signals, having wired a sim card holder into his communications system, bought a pay as you go sim, and installed it. He did admit the unsolicited texts from the network provider, and the odd wrong number could be irritating, but nothing he couldn't cope with.

"Mikaela?" the medic answered immediately.

"It's the Seekers, they've grabbed hold of Sam and are flying around the sky with her," she said.

"Where are you?" asked Ratchet.

"I'm at the Lookout," she said.

"Look, Mikaela, I'm going to ring off and call you back, the Army agreed to get me a contract, and I have unlimited calls in my package. When I call you back, stay on the line, I'm just going to call Ironhide." With that, he rang off.

As promised, five minutes later, he rang back.

"I'm on my way with Ironhide and the Lamborghini Twins, who have brought their jet packs. What's happening now?" he asked.

"One of them is holding Sam, two of them are doing some sort of aerial dance or performance. Oh, hang on, it looks like they're switching over, the two holding and one performing." A few moments later she said "The one is going off-" and then the rest of her words were drowned out by the twin bangs of a sonic boom. "Oh hold on, he's coming bac-" and then the sonic boom sounded again.

By now, Ratchet had tied the others into the conversation.

"That'll be Starscream, he loves to show how fast he is," Ironhide said, and Mikaela could hear the barely-suppressed anger in his voice.

"Well, if Sides and I get hold of him, we'll slow him down some," said the voice of the yellow Twin.

"There's another transfer going on, she's being held by one of the two, the other is – oh! He's disappearing – and reappearing – no, disappearing – oh he's back – no, gone again."

"Skywarp," Ratchet said. "That teleportation of his is unique,"

"It also makes him near impossible to catch," said the other Twin. "It's a right pain in the af-"

"Watch your mouth, Sides, there's a femme listenin'!" said the first Twin.

"Okay, _afterburners_ then, though it's the Seekers that possess them, not us," replied the second.

For a while, Mikeala had nothing much to report, until she was nearly struck by a large clump of wet seaweed from above, much to her disgust. "I think he's showing off," she said "bringing her stuff from afar." Five minutes later she yelled "_Oy! _Cut that_ out!_"

"What's happening, Mikaela?" asked Ratchet in concern.

"Apart from nearly getting brained by a fresh coconut, nothing!" she said. "It looks like they're just dropping the stuff, I guess it's how far he's travelled that matters, not the stuff itself." A few moments later she said "They're transferring again, the one who was bringing stuff is switching places, and one of the others is doing tricks now, and - _Hey! Up there! Stop chucking rocks around!_"

"By a process of elimination, I'd say that was Thundercracker, and Skywarp's holding her," Ironhide growled. "When I catch them, I'll rip them limb from limb!"

A few moments of silence followed, and then it was followed by a cry of alarm from Mikaela.

"What's wrong, Mikaela? We're nearly there," Ratchet said.

"It's the one who was holding Sam! He's _dropped_ her!" she cried. "He just straightened up and _dropped_ her!"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As Sam began to fall, she began to wish the AllSpark had given her wings. Her arms pinwheeled and her legs cycled uselessly as she plummeted towards the ground below. She opened her mouth in a scream, wondering what she had done or said to upset the dark Seeker.

There was a popping sound, and suddenly arms caught her from below and she was borne up. She clung to the dark figure, terrified of falling again. He spoke, and she recognised it as the same one who had dropped her.

"There, you see? I can go from place to place instantaneously. If something happens, if you need me, you need only call me and I will be there. My name is Skywarp, and here is my com code." Sam clung to him tightly, as his wide broadcast was registered by her communication system and his code was automatically logged by her memory.

"Skywarp, that was _stupid_!" Thundercracker said. "Look, she's frightened! You should have told one of _us_ to drop, she could have watched safely in the arms of the other as you caught whoever volunteered to fall!"

"I'm sorry, Sam," Skywarp said contritely. "I promise never to drop you again, I got carried away."

"Er, can we deal with that next time, maybe?" Starscream asked, pointing down. "We're about to have company."

Skywarp and Thundercracker looked down, although Sam still had her face buried in Skywarp's shoulder vent and had nothing more on her mind except holding tight.

Below they could see a green form, a black form and a red and yellow form unfolding.

Backup had arrived.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

When Mikaela saw the Search and Rescue Hummer, the Topkick and the two sports cars arriving, she was sweating and ran over to greet them.

"The black one caught her again, but I don't know what they're planning next!" she said.

"Well, how's about we go up and have a little word with him about how to treat femmes, shall we?" asked Sunstreaker. Sideswipe nodded as they unsubspaced their jet packs and began to strap them on.

Ironhide growled and powered up his cannons. "You rescue Sam, then I'll blast the Seekers into the Pit, where they belong!" he growled.

"Cool it, Ironhide, they haven't hurt her, we should try negotiating first." Ratchet said. Ironhide raised his cannons.

"They can negotiate with my plasma bolts. I've had enough of them, bothering Sam. I warned them, and now they'll have to face the consequences!"

Ratchet watched on helplessly as the Twins launched off up into the sky, hoping that there was some peaceful solution to all this.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

"Look, let's put her back down and scram, we've made some progress, we can build on that later," Starscream suggested.

"If Ironhide _lets_ us have a later," Skywarp said, "And if I can get Sam to let go of me, neither of which seems very likely at the moment. Whoever can get Sam to let me go can also take her down and give her back!"

"And get blown into atoms on the return trip?" Starscream asked sarcastically. "I volunteer _not_ to do that! With your warping ability, it's far more likely you'll be able to succeed than either of us"

"Quit bickering, you two, we've got company incoming!" Thundercracker said, indicating the growing red and yellow motes that were the Twins approaching.

"No time to pry her off or drop her off, and too much progress made to lose," Skywarp said. "Grab hold of me and hang on, we've outstayed our welcome and it's time to leave!"

It was unusual for Skywarp to give orders to his two older trine mates, even more unusual for them not to challenge him about doing so, but this was one of those times. Both Starscream and Thundercracker moved over to Skywarp, who had his arms tightly around Sam, and they wrapped their arms around the black and purple Seeker and his small femme passenger and hung on tightly. Starscream stole a glance at the Twins, who were nearly there but must have realised the Trine's intention. He couldn't resist a sarcastic smile at the alarmed looks on their faces.

"Goodbye, Autobot nuisances," he said mockingly, and then with a pop of displaced air, Sam and the three Seekers were all gone.

On the ground, Ironhide watched the Seekers warp off with his frightened ward. He snarled, discharged his cannons into an empty bit of sky, then howled impotently in frustration and rage.


	9. Chapter 9

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Nine.

The three Seekers and their passenger appeared just ten feet above their auxiliary Base, and Skywarp wasted no time in getting them on to the ground, striding into the Base with Sam and sitting down on the makeshift berth they had made from old pallets, polystyrene slabs and flat sheets.

He stroked Sam's arms soothingly, and shushed her until she raised her head from his shoulder and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, I promise not to do that again," he assured her. "You're on the ground, you're safe now, we'll look after you now."

She looked around as if only just realising that her surroundings had changed. A panicked expression spread over her faceplates as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Where am I? What are you going to do to me?" she asked, trying to shy out of Skywarp's arms as she saw both the other Seekers approaching. Skywarp went back to shushing and arm-stroking as Starscream and Thundercracker joined him in sitting on the berth, but Sam just struggled all the more. In the end, Skywarp shifted her to the space on the berth they were gathered around, and Sam looked up at the three larger forms around her and put her face in her hands.

"Sam, calm down, we're not going to hurt you," Starscream said, reaching out to stroke Sam's shoulder, but at the touch, Sam jerked back as if burned. Thundercracker tried to stroke her face but with the same result.

"She's scared of you, let me," Skywarp said, but was disappointed when Sam flinched back just as violently. The three Seekers looked at each other, and then Skywarp reached out to try embracing Sam again.

"Stop it, all of you, leave me alone, don't touch me!" Sam cried. Skywarp pulled back and looked at the others. Thundercracker decided maybe it was time he had a say.

"Sam, are you okay?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"Why have you brought me here? Why have you kidnapped me? What are you going to do to me?" she asked, taking her hands from her face and looking up. Starscream noticed with alarm that a thin trail of pink was running from the edge of one of Sam's optics, she was so stressed that the minor energon lines feeding her optics were beginning to split under the pressure.

"Kidnapped?" Starscream repeated incredulously. "We haven't kidnapped you, at least that wasn't the plan, but..." He spread his hands as he ran out of words.

"Well, you were holding so tight to me that I couldn't get you to let go, and even if you would've, Ironhide didn't look ready to let us just put you down and leave peacefully. So, we decided to take you here, where you could be on solid ground and be safe," Skywarp finished.

"As to what we're going to do to you, Sam, we're not going to hurt you, but maybe we can show you we are sincere and introduce ourselves to you without being interrupted by Ironhide before you've had a chance to spend some time with us," Thundercracker added. He reached into a leg panel and took out a cloth. "Now, let me clean up that energon, the line should seal up of its own accord."

Sam was expecting him to reach out and wipe it away, so she was a little shocked when the blue Seeker leaned forwards and ran his glossa up her face and flicked it into his mouth. Sam reared back at the contact.

"What are you doing?" she asked in shock, raising her hand to where a little energon was still left.

"Well, it's a shame to waste it," Thundercracker said. "You're scared, I can taste that. What are you scared of?"

"Stunts like that!" she retorted. "Being licked by you – any of you – isn't high on my wish list! You've been pestering me for weeks now, can't you get the message that I'm not interested?"

Skywarp drooped. "You...you seemed to be enjoying the flying," he said, and Sam could hear the misery in his voice.

"I was, but then you dropped me!" she said.

"How many times do you want me to apologise for that?" he pleaded. "It was ill thought-out and I promise, _promise,_ never to do it again. I wanted to show you I could catch you or save you if you fell or needed rescuing in the future."

"You still have a bit of energon on your face. I won't lick it, I promise, Thundercracker said, reaching out with the cloth in his hand. Sam took a deep breath and held her ground, ready to pull back if he did anything unconventional, but he merely wiped away the little energon left with the cloth.

"Sam, all we want is a chance to court you, we did ask at first but Ironhide refused." Starscream said, bowing from the waist although he was seated. "Please, let us show you that we can be gentle, and kind, we could be considerate mates, but we couldn't devote the time to try to prove it with Ironhide taking pot shots at us every time we came near."

Thundercracker spoke up again. "Sam, we are not used to courting in general, let alone someone who was once a human. Perhaps you could let us know what we've gone wrong, and if there is anything, what we did right. We just need a bit of guidance."

"The instrumental music was nice," Sam said slowly "and the flying, but the flowers were a bit much, and the poetry, well, I'm sorry, but talking about group sex and many babies, that was rather off-putting," she told them.

"But why?" Skywarp asked. "Interface can be the most glorious experience, and what could be more lovely than sparklings to look after?"

"Well, humans aren't used to group sex, plus I was _male_ not so long ago, and well, maybe babies are lovely, but _I'm_ the one who has to do the carrying! I don't want my existence reduced to bringing out sparkling after sparkling till I die!"

"Well, what about one every ten years or so? Or longer between them if you prefer? Thirty years, a vorn?"

"Would you wait that long?" Sam asked. Thundercracker nodded earnestly.

"Sam, you forget that we live much longer than you, our war began before your entire race did, we can wait a vorn or two, we can wait till you're ready if you're not at the moment."

"Well, that's a relief, "Sam said with a shaky laugh. "I've had about eighteen years of being used to being a human male, I'm gonna need at least that long to get used to being a female robot." She looked at each Seeker in turn, all of whom were suddenly staring at her, optics wide. "Hey, what's up?"

"Eighteen years?" squeaked Skywarp. "Is that all?"

"Barely old enough to know your own mind, and then only just," Thundercracker said.

"Well then, this changes everything," Starscream declared.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Ironhide, Ratchet and the Twins had only stopped long enough to allow reinforcements, including Optimus, Mirage and Bluestreak to catch them up, and then they had stormed down to the Decepticon Base. Now they were facing the gate, and they made enough noise and shouts that the Decepticons couldn't helpbut know they were there.

Barricade came to respond to their demands that the Seekers hand over Sam or they would launch a full on attack and take her back.

"Well, well well, look at this," the frontliner said. "I come to your Base all polite to get my instrument and when you need something back off us, you come to us with threats. I would love to repay the favour you did me by handing Sam back to you, but there is a problem with that," He paused.

"The Seekers decided that avoiding me for a bit would be a good idea – which is correct – and have set up a Base somewhere else. You may come in and check if you don't believe me, but it will be a waste of time."

Barricade paused before clarifying.

"Sam isn't here."


	10. Chapter 10

For The Race-Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Ten.

Barricade turned, about to leave, but then Ratchet spoke.

"Wait, Barricade. You owe me, and I'm calling in the favour."

The black and white mech stopped and turned towards Ratchet. "And just how do you work _that_ one out, medic?" he asked.

"I caught your instrument when Starscream dropped it, and stopped it from being damaged by the fall." Ratchet said. "I then returned it to you, so in fact that's _two_ favours. I know how Decepticons work. You never do something for nothing, you take it as a favour that can be called in later. You owe me two favours, Barricade, and I'm calling both of them in now." He paused, and then spoke again. "Or is it true that the Decepticon's concept of honour differs from ours so much as to be unrecognisable?"

Ironhide looked first at Ratchet and then at Barricade, who had suddenly gone very still. Was Ratchet actually trying to precipitate a fight? The medic had at one point been a diplomat, but Ironhide had no wonder that he'd changed careers if all of his negotiation had been as potentially inflammatory as this. Tensing in case the frontliner attacked, Ironhide watched the two, but as one second stretched into two, then five, it seemed the danger of attack had passed. At first it seemed that the frontliner would instead ignore Ratchet, but then he inclined his head.

"Very well, Autobot, I owe you two favours, as per Decepticon custom. So what do you want me to do to repay them, _both_ of them?" he asked.

"We are looking for Sam, but she is not here." Ratchet explained. "The Seekers took her, so I assume that if we find them, we will find her. You may have an idea where they may be, possibly other potential Base sites you may have found. I want you to help us find them."

"Okay, it seems fair enough, but I have some conditions," Barricade replied. If I am aiding you, I will be using up fuel. I want you to provide fuel and energon for me for as long as this takes."

"Certainly," Ratchet agreed. "I can have fuel and energon brought to you when needed." Barricade nodded, and continued talking.

"Secondly, once we find where the Seekers are, you are on your own. They may have displeased me greatly, but I will not fight them for your benefit."

"Understandable and also agreed," Ratchet said.

"Thirdly, I will go and check each place alone. Then I shall report back to you and let you know if the Seekers are there." As Ironhide opened his mouth to protest, Barricade pinned him with his red glare.

"We may still have need of some of these potential sites, if you know where they are we will be at a disadvantage. If our positions were reversed, you would not want your advantages known to us." He growled his engine low in warning. "Those are my conditions. If you cannot agree to all of these, the deal's off, and I will have to pay my debt off in a more acceptable fashion."

Ironhide moved as if to deploy one of his cannons, but Ratchet grabbed his arm and pushed it down. "He's right, you know, it's only fair, we wouldn't like it if we had to show him all our potential base locations. Anyway, if just he is looking, it will not arouse as much suspicion as it would if we all charged around after him as he looked."

Optimus, who was also present, nodded. "Very well, Barricade," Ratchet replied. "I accept your conditions. Ironhide and Bluestreak, I suggest you wait elsewhere get Barricade to take you somewhere safe and secluded, neutral ground for us all." He looked at the black and white mech to be sure he agreed to this, which he did with a slight nod and a shuttering of his optics.

"The rest of us will retreat back to the Base. I'll come back, letting Barricade guide me to the new meeting place with the fuel and some energon for Barricade, then wait there so he knows where to find us once he's found the Seekers." To Optimus he commed **'Once you're out of sight, send Mirage back to keep an optic on us. I don't think he'll try to attack us and run but it's always good to be prepared for everything.'**

"Okay, Autobots, fall back," Optimus said. He headed away, with the rest of the Autobots following, Ratchet bringing up the rear. Once they had left, Barricade turned to look at the two big 'bots who were folding into alt ready to move. Barricade himself folded down to his Police cruiser disguise mode and said "Follow me, I know a place we can wait."

He ignored Ironhide's engine growl as he smoothly peeled away and headed for a nearby turning.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

"What...what do you mean?" Sam asked, uncomfortable with Starscream's vague remark and the undivided attention that was suddenly being brought to bear.

"Well, Sam, at eighteen, our young are still considered close to what you humans would call 'newborn.' Thundercracker said. "Of course, with humans having such a short lifespan, you were almost an adult by human standards when you changed. However, as you're unused to being a Cybertronian and a femme, I'd say that categorises you by our standards as a youngling, old enough to make certain decisions and understand much, but still with much to learn before you make other decisions, such as choosing a mate."

"Does that mean you'll let me go?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Sam, this is our opportunity to teach you some of the things you need to know!" Starscream explained. "We can help you learn about your body, we can teach you Cybertronian culture, and all the stuff that's second nature to us, but that you don't know about."

"Like interface!" Skywarp said excitedly. "We can teach you all about interface!"

"But isn't interface like...sex for you guys?" he asked nervously. "Surely I need to learn other stuff before that?" Starscream gave Skywarp a glance before turning back to Sam, reaching out his hands, not to touch her, but imploringly.

"Sam, there isn't really an equivalent human translation for the Cybertronian term, but it is not merely a sexual thing. It involves two or more individuals giving others – or each other – pleasure, and the term covers everything from the touch of a Creator to a sparkling, up to and including spark-merge and everything in between. Our race in general use touch a little more than yours does in everyday life, although the amount of touch used differs from group to group, and indeed it is claimed that we Seekers as a whole have turned touch into an art form."

"Look, we're not going to force you to do anything, Sam," Thundercracker said. "If you're not ready to try interface, even the innocent form, that's fine by us, we'll try to remember not to touch you." That, Sam thought, was something at least, although the bit about 'trying' didn't exactly fill him with confidence.

"We could show him, he'll see from our reactions how enjoyable it is," Skywarp suggested.

"Now there's an idea!" Starscream said. "Sam, you just sit there and we'll show you how interface can be really enjoyable. You sit there and watch, though if you do feel compelled to join in, feel free!"

"Er – guys - voyeurism really isn't my thing, " Sam said, but as the three began touching each other's cheeks and arms, Sam had a sudden sinking feeling that she either hadn't been heard, or that her comments were being ignored.

With a grimace, she squeezed her optics shut and put her arm over her optics.

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Ratchet brought the fuel and energon to the co-ordinates specified, and Barricade asked if they would all drink energon with him, to ease the tension so nobody would have to worry about being attacked by the other. When Ratchet readily agreed, Barricade called "And that includes you, too, Mirage, I know you're out there and I may have need of your skills." Ratchet sent a quick databurst to Mirage to comply - after all if they had drunk energon together his defensive watch was not needed – and the slender blue and white mech shimmered into existence and asked Barricade "How did you know? How did I give myself away?"

"You didn't," the frontliner said as Ratchet began handing out cubes of energon, "but in Ratchet's position, with someone who can go invisible, I would have done the same."

Mirage didn't respond, but began drinking from his cube, and at this, the other three 'bots and the Decepticon frontliner did likewise. Once Mirage had finished half his cube, he looked up at Barricade and asked "How can I help?"

"Some of the locations are in areas where someone sneaking up will be seen some time before they get close," he explained. "Most of them have enough cover or uneven terrain to make it possible for me to sneak in without being spotted, but there are one or two places where it might be advantageous to have someone with your ability to do the sneaking for me,"

"I guess that makes sense," Mirage said. "So, am I to accompany you?"

"Only to the two places I am thinking of, and then I'll only go there if I can't find them at the other locations," he explained. Mirage nodded.

"I will fuel up and then I will go and search the first places," Barricade said to the group. "I suggest you wait here but find yourself something to do, it could be a long wait,"

Then he crossed to the small fuel dispenser Ratchet had brought, fuelled himself up, folded down into alt, and roared off.


	11. Chapter 11

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Eleven.

After a short time Sam's curiosity got the better of her, and she peeked between two of her fingers. To her surprise, the three were still only caressing each other's faces and arms, the touches not straying except for an occasional caress that went over the helm and down the neck. She could see that even these innocent-looking touches were making the Seeker's optic shutters twitch.

As the Seekers continued their caressing, which was so smooth and graceful that it almost looked like a dance, Sam was reminded of Starscream's earlier remark about Seekers turning touch into an art form. Well, it seemed they were determined to give Sam her own private exhibition!

Sam watched, semi-mesmerised, surprised at the graceful, gentle touches and the Seekers crying, mewling and moaning in obvious enjoyment. As they all seemed to begin shaking, they grabbed each other's arms. They all gave a quick, full-body shudder, perfectly synchronised, then they unshuttered their optics properly and, one by one, turned their heads to look at Sam.

It was too late to look away or raise her hands and pretend that she hadn't been looking, and turning away to cover her optics again might seem hypocritical at best, so she decided to brazen it out as Starscream asked "Well, Sam, what do you think?"

"You did seem to be enjoying it, yes, and I must confess that I was surprised that the stroking of arms and faces seemed so – ah – stimulating for you," Sam confessed, with just that one hesitation.

"Well, we Seekers are, it is true, more responsive to touch than most other Cybertronians," Starscream said, preening slightly, "but even most non-Seekers are sensitive in the area of the back and shoulders, due to the amount of data cables that come together there."

"Please, Sam, let us stroke you just as we were stroking each other, let us show you how pleasant it can be," Skywarp pleaded.

"Sorry, but I don't do sex on a first date," Sam said, remembering that that was what some of her ex-girlfriends had told her (and which she had happily accepted.) "On Earth, nice girls don't."

"Oh, Sam, that was not a sexual form of touching, more like a parent-to-child or sibling interface," Thundercracker chided gently. "The term 'interface' does not just cover what humans would term as 'sex', just as overloading is not only a sexual activity." He flashed his optics in a gesture Sam was unfamiliar with, he did not sound angry. "Why humans seem to limit most of giving pleasurable touch to reproductive activities, I do not know, but you're a Cybertronian now Sam, and should not let your human scruples hold you back."

"I think what scruples I keep and when I lose the ones I'm willing to lose is up to me, isn't it?" Sam said, a little more sharply than she intended. A slightly startled look appeared on Thundercracker's face, but he recovered himself quickly.

"Of course it is, Sam, I was only stating my opinion, and explaining that the touches you saw us exchange were friendship-strokes, nothing more."

"Sam, look, why don't you try it, if you don't like it, you can always tell us to stop," Skywarp said. "You have no idea of how sensitive your Cybertronian hide is and how our touches will feel. Please, just try it?" He gave her a smile and shot her a pleading look. "For us Seekers, a lack of touch would be torture, and seeing you with nobody to touch you makes us distressed."

"Okay, I'll try it," Sam said. "But if I say 'no', or 'stop', then I mean it, and I want you to stop."

"Of course, but make sure you repeat it several times, Sam, we may not hear just one word," Thundercracker said. He and the other two sat in a rough triangle formation with a space in their midst, which Thundercracker patted encouragingly. "Sit here Sam," he said. Sam, already wondering if she would regret this, did so.

"We will confine ourselves to your face, neck, shoulders and arms," Starscream said. As the three slowly began to reach out towards her, she shuttered her optics and hoped she would not regret her hasty decision.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Barricade had not been exaggerating when he had told the Autobots to expect a long wait. It was five hours later when he returned and said that the first few sites had turned up negative. He had two more to check, he said, before he might need Mirage's help to check out a further two, but they were both a considerable distance away and would take several hours to get to, and the same amount of time to return from. The Autobots agreed to go back to their Base while Barricade checked the other two places. He would call them if he found anything.

None of the Autobots realised that Barricade had his own motives for helping them, nor that he had his own plans ready for when he did find the Seekers and Sam. Oh, he wasn't breaking his agreement, he reflected, just bending it slightly. If getting news to them took a little longer than was strictly necessary, they never had to know.

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Sam tensed slightly as she felt smooth Seeker fingertips make contact with her hide. They did not hesitate, after all, Sam had not spoken or made a sound, and the fingers and palms stroked down her arms, smoothed over her faceplates, not too firmly, but neither was the touch unbearably light.

Sam was surprised at the pleasurable tingling sensation the experienced hands evoked with a few caresses, and she relaxed, her optics half-shuttering almost of their own volition as a sigh of gently expressed air escaped her vents. Her metal skin was buzzing with the new and intensely enjoyable sensations her sensors were logging, and she relaxed further, unused to the stimulus and her new body's reaction to it. Her body began to sag, her processors losing control of her physical reactions.

Then she felt strong warm Seeker hands splay on her back, holding her up as she slumped into them. Her systems were already swiftly becoming swamped by the wealth of tactile contact she was undergoing, but somewhere she recognised the support they were giving her, and strangely enough that caused her to relax further.

She heard a murmur of voices, and then she was being carefully lowered to the floor, the four hands still caressing her and never missing a beat. She felt a warm body settle either side of her, but she still did not feel threatened, she felt warm and safe, loved and protected, and those skilled hands were still teasing sensation from her.

Her optics seemed to lose focus, then seemed to cut out and then back on and then off again, on again, off, on, repeating, until she felt herself vibrating, shaking. Her vision went white, to her surprise, not black, and she heard herself cry out before her awareness of everything ceased.

As Sam slumped, the Seekers lowered her to the floor, Skywarp and Thundercracker snuggling up to her as Starscream continued caressing with both his hands, the two other Seekers using the hand they each had free. As her optics began going on and off they watched over her protectively, and as she finally succumbed to overload, they held her, allowed it to happen, held her close and reassured her.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Barricade permitted himself a small, toothy smile. He had seen enough to suspect that the Seekers were indeed in this area. He would need to observe one of them to confirm, but that would be easy. He only had to wait until one of them needed or wanted to fly. Of course, that could take time, but the Autobots had been warned that they might need to wait. So, this was one of those times.

Setting his colours to fade from black and white to shades of grey, Barricade hid in the shadows and waited.

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As Sam came back up to consciousness, she was aware of cooing and purring, soft murmurings and the warmth of other bodies, but the caressing had stopped, and she was half-disappointed at that.

"She's awake," she heard someone – Skywarp, she thought – say.

"Sam?" asked another voice which she identified as Starscream's. Unshuttering her optics she found herself looking up at a warehouse roof, and then Starscream's face came into frame as he leaned over, one hand reaching over to trace a gentle line down her cheek. Sam's response to that touch was to set her engine to purring, an entirely involuntary response, startling even her. Starscream chuckled and she felt the other two snuggle close, not confining her but enjoying her warmth, and she had to admit she was enjoying the snuggling as well.

"Sam, we need to fly, just for a few minutes," he said. "Can we have your word that you won't try and run away or call for help if we leave you for that time? If we promise to return you to the Autobot Base in a day? Does that sound fair to you? We only wanted a chance to court you, which we are now getting, although it's more to teach you now we realise your relative youth."

Sam considered it, and then nodded, it did seem fair, and they seemed inclined not to hurt her, in fact appeared to be going out of their way to ensure they didn't even scare her.

"Okay, I promise, but I want your word, on your wings, that you will take me back in twenty-four hours," she said. She took a breath and continued talking, hoping she wasn't asking too much. Then again, if they wanted to please her and wanted her approval...

"Also, if possible, send a message to the Autobots telling them I am safe and unharmed, and telling them I'll be returned. Think about it, they're probably worried about me too, and it's not fair to leave them wondering."

There was a moment's silence during which Starscream glanced at where his wingbrothers were snuggled up to Sam, before Starscream dropped his head in a short nod.

"Very well, Sam. I give my word on my wings and those of the other members of my trine, that you will be returned to the Autobot Base within twenty-four hours of our return from this flight. I will also send a message to the Autobots to assure them that you are safe and well and will be returned to them."

"Thank you," Sam said, and felt a bit naked as the other two Seekers released her from their arms and got to their feet. She too sat up, and Thundercracker crouched down and took her shoulders.

"Perhaps a little later we can give you that flight we promised you, and this time, you won't be dropped."

"I hope not!" Sam said.

"Definately not," Skywarp promised.

Thundercracker leaned forward and Sam suddenly found herself being kissed soundly but not roughly on the lips. Before she could react with a struggle or a start, Thundercracker had released her and drawn back. "We'll see you soon," he said, and then all three headed towards the door, but not without several backward glances and waves.

The moment she was certain they had gone, Sam was up and looking around. Sure, she had promised not to call for help or to escape, but that didn't mean she couldn't explore the warehouse for potential escape avenues, in case something went wrong or they broke their promise. After all, these were Decepticons, and that faction name was likely earned.

To not have a Plan 'B' in place was an unnecessary risk that Sam was unwilling to take.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Barricade spotted the three Seekers as they came out of the Base. He watched as the three launched themselves into the air, one by one, converted into jet form, and flew off. Well, he had his confirmation of their location, and the fact that the three had gone, and left Sam unguarded, was an extra bonus. Perhaps the next phase of his plan would be easier than he had surmised. He would not have to worry about battling a Seeker in order to get to Sam.

Barricade swiftly converted to robot mode and headed quickly and quietly towards the warehouse building.


	12. Chapter 12

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Chapter Twelve.

Sam heard the click of the door and quickly scurried back to the makeshift berth in case she was found out, but to her surprise it was not the Seekers returning, but Barricade coming in. She tensed. What was he doing here. Involuntarily she brought the hand he'd bitten to her mouth, and as he turned from closing the door behind him, he noticed the gesture and chuckled.

"I'm not here to taste your energon this time, femme,' he remarked as he took a few easy steps towards her. "I'm here to find you, your friends the Autobots are worried about you, and I'm helping them get you back."

"What? You're helping the Autobots? I'll believe that when I can see that it's true," Sam said sceptically.

"Well, it _is_ true, the Autobots called in the favour they did me by returning my instrument. We do have a certain code of honour, and repaying favours is one of them, in fact it's something we Decepticons do well, and do well from." He shrugged, then grinned toothily. "Of course, we can add our own modifications where we see fit, for example, instead of telling the Autobots where you are straight away, I will take you to some other place where we won't be disturbed be either side, and I can give you a private concert."

"Well, that's kind of a nice offer, but I've already made arrangements with the Seekers to release me in a day, so maybe later," Sam said.

"You really think they'll keep that promise?" Barricade said. "They're Decepticons, they'll say anything to get their own way."

"So are you," Sam remarked. "Why should I trust you any more than them?" Barricade bowed mockingly.

"Touché, femme, you have a point," the black and white mech admitted. "However, I do speak the truth, the Seekers have irritated me greatly recently. How better to pay them back than not only to take the femme they have striven so hard to capture back to her protectors, where they will have less likelihood of stealing you back, but also to have a chance to court her myself?"

"I think I'd rather be seen as more than just a trophy or a method of scoring against each other," Sam said.

"Oh, that would just be an added bonus, my dear femme," Barricade said. "If I just wanted to tick the Seekers off, I have a multitude of methods, but this way has the added bonus of spending time in the presence of exquisite beauty such as you, without the Seekers _or_ the Autobots butting in at an inopportune time."

Sam looked at him, half-impressed with his silver tongue. "Barricade, were you born knowing how to bullshit like that, or did you take lessons?" she asked. Barricade laughed.

"A femme who says it how it is, is feisty, appreciates music and is lovely to look at. What more could any mech want? I like you, femme, and that's why I want a chance to impress you with my musical prowess. Come on, Sam, just a few hours in a spare Base and then you can go back to the Autobots, if you still want to by then."

"First of all, stop calling me 'femme'!" Sam said. "I have a name, Sam, and I'd appreciate it if you _used_ it. For another thing, I made a promise too, not to run off, and I intend to keep it. If you want to play for me, do it here and now, I am the only one here."

"No, the Seekers might return and my instrument might get damaged if they object," Barricade said. He held out a hand. Come on, Sam, enough of this foolishness, let's go now."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Sam said. "I happen to quite like the way the Seekers are treating me, and I'd rather wait here. We humans – okay, I _was_ human once, don't forget – have a saying. 'Better the devil you know than the devil you don't', and I have no guarantee that you'll keep your word if I go with you. I don't know that about the Seekers either, but they haven't pushed me on the issue, in fact they said that they see me as like a youngling, and want me to learn before I choose to do anything else."

Barricade sighed.

"Why do you have to make me do this the hard way, Sam, it's no wonder the Seekers had to kidnap you to get a chance to court you." He raised the panelling on one of his arms to show a rocket launcher concealed underneath, pointing it at Sam and curving the claws of the other hand as he reached for Sam.

"Well, it looks like I'll have to employ the same method. You can come with me now, unharmed, or I can damage you so you have no choice and our medic can patch you up. Either way, Sam, you are coming with me. Come on now, we should leave here before those Seekers come back."

As he reached for Sam again, a familiar voice said "It's too late for that, Barricade, we're already back, and it looks like we're just in time!"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

The Seekers had flown out to a point where they could send the message Sam had asked them to, to assure the Autobots that she was safe, when Skywarp had had the bright idea of flying with Sam.

"We did promise her a flight, and we don't want her to think that whenever we need to that we'll abandon her," the younger mech had said with surprising insight. "Why leave her alone there when she could enjoy the break too?"

"That's a good idea, Skywarp," Thundercracker said approvingly. "She's already shown a good tolerance of flight. If she likes it enough we may even be able to persuade her to be remodelled into a flying form, and teach her to fly so she could be a true sky-mate."

"Even if she doesn't, the three of us can easily carry her anywhere she wishes," Starscream said. "Come on, let's go and find her, take her up with us, and share the sky with her."

The three needed no further discussion, falling into their usual arrowhead formation, Starscream leading, and headed back to their Base. They had no idea if Sam would have kept her word, but had decided that if they wanted Sam to trust them, they should repay the compliment.

As they began opening the door, they could hear Barricade talking, and he seemed so involved in what he was saying, he hadn't heard them. Rather than open the door fully and risk giving away their presence, they each slid in through the gap which was just big enough to admit them if they slipped in sideways, and assembled to one side.

They saw Sam standing, looking ready to flee, Barricade menacing her with a wickedly clawed hand. The three looked at each other, and then Starscream gave Skywarp a nod. Skywarp nodded back and slipped back out of the door as Thundercracker armed his hand-mounted gun and took aim. Then Starscream said "It's too late for that, Barricade, we're already back, and it looks like we're just in time!"

As Barricade turned, Thundercracker shot at the floor just behind Barricade, drawing his full attention away from Sam, while masking with the sound the faint pop of imploding air from outside. He took another step forward, this time aiming his gun at Barricade's chest. Barricade armed both missile launchers and his whirling saw blade, baring his teeth, clawing his hands as he raised them, and erecting the spikes on his armour, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

He hadn't forgotten Sam, but did not dare turn his back on the Seekers, both of whom were pointing their weapons at him now. Which was the point at which Skywarp popped into existence above them with a bang as he displaced the air, grabbed Sam, and disappeared just as fast.

Barricade snarled with frustration as he realised how he'd been fooled. Starscream and Thundercracker, their aim never wavering, moved around the sides of the Base until they were behind him. He was outnumbered and outgunned, and he knew it.

"You won' t fire on me, another Decepticon, you need as many of us as you can get," he said.

"Are you willing to stake your life on that?" Starscream asked. "We're giving you five minutes to move your half-rusted and unbeautiful aft out of our auxillary Base. Delay, and we _will_ fire." As he and Starscream were never on the best of terms even on a good day, Barricade knew that this was no idle threat.

"What about the femme?" asked Barricade.

"She is no longer the concern of any of us, thanks to you," Thundercracker said. "Perhaps if you'd approached us and offered to help in wooing her, you might have had a chance like we almost had. But right now, I suspect that the Autobots will have more say in her future than we do."

"Barricade, you now have four minutes and twenty-two seconds to leave," Starscream reminded him.

Growling, Barricade realised he had no further reason to remain, and stalked out. A moment later, the two heard him transform and zoom off.

"Well, now I guess we just wait for Skywarp to return," Thundercracker observed unhappily.

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Sam was surprised but gratified when Skywarp appeared above her, seized her by the shoulders and vanished, and was even more so when they reappeared just outside the Base with her feet on stable ground. "Hang on, this is a very temporary stop," Skywarp said as he landed beside her. He put one arm around her and used the other to sweep her legs out from under her, so he was cradling her in his arms. He held her tight as he took off. He was not being careful: Sam felt the pressure of a few gees press down on her as the black and purple mech took off.

"Here we go!" he said, and Sam heard the pop before the unfamiliar distortion associated with warping took hold. The next thing she knew was that they were high above the Autobot base.

"Okay, we can descend a little slower this time, unless of course Ironhide decides to start shooting at me," Skywarp said.

"You're taking me back now?" Sam asked, both surprised and gratified.

"Well, I'm not taking you back where Barricade could get his claws on you, and here seems the safest place," the dark Seeker told her.

"Hold on, call the Base. Tell them you're coming down and you're bringing me back, so could they please lower the force-field," Sam said. Skywarp nodded, and did call.

"They've received it," he told Sam. For another few minutes, they descended slowly. As they reached the level of the force-field they continued their slow descent, showing that Ironhide had indeed responded to the com and lowered it, and as they landed, a party comprised of Optimus, Ratchet, and a scowling Ironhide came out of the entrance to the Base building.

Skywarp carefully set Sam down, but Sam was careful to position herself between Skywarp and Ironhide, grabbing Skywarp's arm to stop him flying off.

"Hi there," Sam said. "I'm okay, really I am, and when Barricade tried to take me away by force, the Seekers chose to have me returned to here rather than leave me at further risk," she explained. "Can Skywarp stay, and have some of that air fuel I know you keep in case the Arielbots turn up? She widened her optic shutters, looking imploringly at first Optimus, then Ratchet and finally Ironhide. _"Pleeeeease?"_ she finished up with.

Optimus tried to stifle a grin, Ratchet didn't even try, snickering out loud, and even Ironhide allowed the corners of his mouth to turn up a little, the scowl vanishing.

"Very well. Skywarp, you may come in under the protection of the Treaty of Iacon for a refuel, but in return we want a debrief from both you and Sam," Optimus said.

Skywarp turned to Optimus with innocent optics. "If you want two other points of view, you could debrief my wingbrothers too," he offered. "Although they would like fuel as well, as they're a bit low, what with flying Sam about, and protecting her as well."

"Go on, you scoundrel, I think we have enough aviation fuel, call them," Ratchet said.

"As long as we can at least discuss the possibility of some sort of peace talks," Optimus interjected.

"Of course," Skywarp said as he commed his wingbrothers, as if it were already a given.

As they walked in, Skywarp shifted to take one of Sam's hands in one of his own, but Sam did not protest.

After all, with these potential peace talks anything could happen, and anyway, Sam wanted at least one more date with the Seekers.

They still owed her a flight.


	13. Chapter 13

For The Race – Seeker Shenanigans.

Epilogue.

A/N: Sorry if this seems a bit rushed, but it seemed a good way to end it. Thank you everyone who has followed this!

Ten Years On.

Sam looked up from the eight small grounders on and around her lap, as Starscream came in with the three winglets – one belonging to himself, one to each wingbrother – following in a small arrowhead formation at his heels.

"Okay, Sam, which three want to come up now that our winglets have had their flying training?" the Seeker asked.

"Um, Terra Prima, Illusa and Cascade?" she suggested. The three named picked themselves up from the mass and wandered over to the Decepticon Air Commander, all stretching their arms up to be picked up. Starscream picked up the three –the offspring of Elita and Optimus, Firestar and Mirage, and Moonracer and Barricade respectively –and they clung to him gleefully.

Although Elita's team of six had only arrived six years earlier, they had wasted no time in taking some of the pressure off Sam, who by then had already borne the three winglets and was carrying Bumblebee's sparkling, Freewheeler. Now Optimus, Ironhide, Mirage, Prowl, Barricade, Dead End and Wreckage each had a sparkling by one or other of the team, for Ratchet had ordered Sam to take a break from Sparkling-bearing for a bit once they showed up. The arrival of two more Decepticon femmes, Thunderstroke and Novafire (the first a Seeker, the latter a grounder) the pressure was off even more. Both, as far as Sam knew, were now carrying.

For a while, there had been two separate groups of Decepticons, each working separately from the other, and divided between the Seekers and the grounders, for Barricade's memory was long and he was stubborn. The Seeker contingent had made peace within the first year, but Barricade had swiftly realised that their divided forces made it difficult for himself and the other Decepticons to operate, especially when of the new arrivals, any fliers that turned up tended to join Starscream's group. Within less than a year of the peace overtures from the grounder contingent, the Autobot femmes had arrived, and once Barricade's mechs became aware of that, he found pressure to seal the peace so the others could meet said femmes being brought increasingly to bear.

The two groups agreed to stay as two separate but affiliated groups, the Land Force Decepticons and the Airborne Decepticon Flight, with Starscream and Barricade respectively in charge, and so far it had worked out. Both leaders communicated with each other better than anticipated and for now, at least, the peace was holding.

Sam smiled as Starscream took the three excited little grounders out for a flight. Only one sparkling, Wreckage's, couldn't stomach flights, and Starscream's trine were always willing to babysit. It turned out the Seekers adored the sparklings – all of them – and the sparklings all adored them back. Sam couldn't help but smile. Who would have thought the mighty Command Trine of the Decepticons could be turned to mush by a couple of coos and a pair of small beseeching optics?

As the three winglets joined the remaining five grounder sparklings, Sam laughed as she nodded when they pleaded for a story. Accessing the Cybertronian stories she'd been gifted by Ratchet for just this purpose, she began to tell them the legend of the First Thirteen.

A/N: This story is set after the first movie, and is assuming the events of the second movie just did not happen. Thanks to Lady Threarah for this bunny, it's been a lot of fun, and I hope everybody has enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.


End file.
